Maine's decision: Borrow for roads?

Francis X. Quinn

Tuesday

May 29, 2007 at 2:00 AM

AUGUSTA, Maine — Two weeks from today, Maine voters will have a chance to approve or reject the first part of a three-part borrowing package proposed by Gov. John Baldacci and the Legislature worth $295 million.

AUGUSTA, Maine — Two weeks from today, Maine voters will have a chance to approve or reject the first part of a three-part borrowing package proposed by Gov. John Baldacci and the Legislature worth $295 million.

The first June 12 ballot question, if approved, would raise just under $113 million — $112,975,000 — for transportation projects.

Possible uses include improvements to highways and bridges, airports, public transit facilities, ferry and port facilities, including port and harbor structures, and bicycle and pedestrian trails.

Advocates, as expressed in the ballot question itself, say approval of that bond issue would make the state eligible for more than $260 million in federal and other matching funds.

The second ballot question proposes raising $18.3 million for drinking water programs and wastewater treatment facilities.

Advocates say approval would leverage $49.5 million in other funds.

Voter turnout is expected to be light.

"Does the public care?" asks Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap. "Typically, there is not a campaign associated with a bond issue."

Back on April 4, a bipartisan deal on new borrowing between majority Democrats and minority Republicans won overwhelming approval in the full Legislature.

Needing two-thirds majorities in both chambers to pass, the bond package was backed on final votes of 138-6 in the House of Representatives and 33-0 in the Senate.

Provisions called for the $295 million to be divided for three separate statewide referendum votes in June and November of this year and June of 2008.

The three-part package, which carries a heavy emphasis on transportation infrastructure, bears a total interest cost of nearly $84 million over the life of the proposed 10-year bonds.

It came before the full Legislature with a unanimous recommendation from the Appropriations Committee.

"Bond issues usually pass because the Legislature reflects the sentiments of the voters," says Dunlap, a Democratic former legislator who was elected to his constitutional post by members of the House and Senate.

When bond proposals do run into trouble, it often happens when voters face multiple borrowing requests, Dunlap says.

This time around, he suggests, "one of the strategies of splitting it up over several election cycles is spreading it out a little bit."

Beyond the total of $131.3 million in proposals for June, the overall bond package enacted in April also includes another proposal worth $134 million for voter consideration in November.

Of the $134 million, $55 million would go toward promoting research and economic development, with $50 million in a Maine Technology Institute competitive fund.

Another $43.5 million of the total on November ballots would be for education and cultural purposes, including $23 million for the University of Maine System and $15.5 million for Maine's community colleges.

Additionally, November voters would be asked to approve or reject $35.5 million for initiatives related to natural resources, including $17 million for the Land for Maine's Future program, $7.5 million for state parks and historic sites and $5 million for river-based community and economic development projects.

Finally, voters in June 2008 would pass judgment on a final part of the overall package worth $29.7 million, most of which would be for more transportation projects. A smaller amount, $6.7 million, would be raised for a variety of environmental initiatives, including hazardous waste site clean-up and fish hatchery upgrades.

Turnout for off-year balloting like that coming up on June 12 typically runs between 15 percent and 20 percent of registered voters, Dunlap says.

Civic-duty-minded voters are a key segment.

For many, Dunlap suggests, voting on bond issues is regarded as "more routine business than anything" — a formal ratification of legislative action.

State transportation officials and other advocates say prompt action to replenish funding available for highway and bridge work is much needed.

A February report by the Maine Economic Growth Council said Maine's highways and bridges are deficient and that Maine's roadways "are in considerably worse condition" than the rest of New England's.

The report said "poor pavement has become a more pronounced issue in the last few years," resulting in higher operating costs, more crashes and higher reconstruction costs.

Republican Rep. Sawin Millett of Waterford, an Appropriations Committee veteran, said when the bond compromise went through committee the total borrowing package was well within the state's borrowing capacity.

"We are now dealing with what we can afford, versus borrowing up to a certain percentage of revenues," he said in a statement. "There is a difference between what you can borrow and what you should borrow. We have reduced the governor's plan by more than $100 million."

A Maine Department of Transportation capital work plan for fiscal years 2008-2009 calls for more than $300 million in highway investments, including $15.1 million for the Gorham Bypass and nearly $18 million in highway improvements along I-295 from Yarmouth to South Portland, and over $138.6 million in bridge investments, including replacement of the Norridgewock 'Covered Bridge' and major improvements to the Deer Isle-Sedgwick Bridge and Harpswell's Bailey Island Bridge.

The plan also envisions spending more than $177.8 million for rail, airports, public transit, ferry service, and trails, including continued operating support for the Downeaster and construction of a new Acadia Gateway welcome center in Trenton.

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